Departure

Act 1, Part 3: The Summer of '76

Joey seeks acceptance away from school and his broken childhood. Steve gets a tough call from the East Coast.

Saturday

It was no surprise to find Joey back outside of the pool hall. Not clear if Eric and Buddy were inside, the young boy peeked through the window with his hand over his eyes. Buddy saw the face peering through the window and yelled over to Eric, "Hey, looks like your little pal came back!"

Eric stepped out of the shadows and smiled. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey, Joey. Good to see you. Why are you looking in the window like that? Just come on in."

Joey nodded his head and slowly walked through the door. "I didn't know who was here."

"It's just us, pal. You wanna pop?" Eric asked.

"Yes, please. Can I hang out here?" Joey asked tentatively as he took the can from Eric.

Eric smiled. "Of course, you can. We have pop here that's a quarter a can. We have pool tables and a television too. We even have some snacks that aren't too expensive."

"That sounds fine to me," Joey said shyly. "I've got some money. Not a whole lot, but I get an allowance of a dollar a week."

"How old are you, kiddo?" Buddy asked.

"Fifteen."

"You're old enough to work. Why don't you get a job?"

"What would I do?" Joey asked.

"Well, at your age, you can help clean up or stock shelves. You know, I can't pay much, but I can put you to work maybe three or four hours a week doing some clean up and different things. I can probably pay you a couple of bucks an hour. How does that sound?"

Joey was overwhelmed at the idea of his sudden windfall. That could mean six or eight dollars a week which could keep him stocked in pop, snacks and pool a couple of times a week.

"It sounds good, Buddy. What do you want me to do?"

"Well, for starters, how about cleaning up around here? I can give you a mop and bucket. Later on, I may have some errands to run. You know, deliveries."

"Whatever you need, Buddy."

"Thattaboy." Buddy patted the young boy on the shoulder.

Despite being a bachelor and a man about town, certain routine items needed to be addressed. After a morning breakfast with Professor Atwater, Steve's Saturday afternoon was already quite busy. Laundry, bill paying, restocking the food supply, changing the sheets and cleaning the bathroom typically filled his day-off to-do list. While today was no exception, Steve made an extra effort to make sure his apartment was clean since he and Carolyn made plans for the evening.

Steve thought of what those plans could involve and smiled. He liked Carolyn quite a lot. In addition to all of the proper date activities they enjoyed together, Steve found her to be quite compatible physically. On evenings like these, they'd pick out a great restaurant, enjoy a fine bottle of wine and then retire to his apartment early for uninterrupted intimacy. As Steve reflected on the last weekend's date, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Steve Keller."

"This is he." Steve noted urgency in the female caller's tone.

"Steve, it's Samantha Mason from Boston. I hope you remember me. I work for your grandfather at the university."

"Of course, I remember you!" Puzzled by the call, an eerie feeling crept over the young man. "Is everything okay?"

Steve had spent a couple of summers with his grandfather during college and had the opportunity to meet several of his colleagues. He was particularly fond of Miss Mason, his grandfather's occasional assistant.

"I'm afraid not. Steve, I have some bad news. Your grandfather has had a serious stroke. The prognosis is not good and the doctors advised me to contact his closest relative, which is you."

"Oh, no. I justspoke to him last week. He sounded all right then. Can you tell me more?"

"He was supposed to meet with some of his colleagues for coffee to discuss some staffing plans at the university for next fall. He didn't show up. Fortunately, a couple of his friends were worried, so they tried to reach him. They found him sitting up in a chair in his house, but he was not responsive."

A knot quickly formed in Steve's stomach. "Is his conscious now?"

"He's gone in and out. But the doctors are concerned that his body is shutting down. His kidneys are not functioning well and his liver enzymes are up. With his age, they've told us it's only a matter of time."

"I knew this day would come, but I'm not at all prepared for it. I can be out there tomorrow, if not, today. It depends on what kind of flight I can get."

"I know he'd appreciate that. He always spoke so highly of you to everyone here at the university. I also know that he really didn't have anyone else. You both must be very close."

"Yes, we are. Can I get your number and contact information? I'm assuming that grandpa is in the hospital."

The conversation closed with Steve swapping information with Samantha Mason. He hung up the phone and stared down at the kitchen table. "Such a good man. I'm going to miss him so," Steve thought to himself.

The young man walked back into this bedroom and packed a suitcase. He called Carolyn to break their date. She conveyed her condolences. Steve decided he would swing by Mike's house on the way over to the airport. He preferred to deliver the news of his absence in person.

Mike heard the knock on the door. He checked out the window and was surprised to see the familiar Porsche on their day off. He glanced over to the porch and saw the grim expression on his partner's face.

"Steve," he said as he opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry to just show up like this. I'm headed to my grandfather's. He's had a severe stroke and the doctors don't think he'll make it much longer. He's starting to shut down, so they've called in the family. I just wanted to let you know that I would be out for a few days."

"I'm sorry to hear this. I know you've mentioned your grandfather before." Mike was oddly relieved, but he wasn't sure why. "Look, do what you need to do. You have time coming. Where are you headed?"

"Right now, to the airport. Grandpa lives in Boston, so I'm going to try to catch a flight out today."

"Is there anything I can do?" Mike thought carefully for a quick moment. "Hey, let me drive you to the airport. There's no sense in leaving your car out there."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. Besides, it's your day off and one of the first you've had since Jeannie's been home."

"I have nothing better to do. And besides, Jeannie would insist," he said as he stood back to let Steve into his home. "Come on in. She has a date anyway. As a matter of fact, the guy is going to be over in a few minutes. They're having an early dinner and hitting the ballgame."

Mike pointed to the sofa. "Look, just give me a moment and let me change shoes and hit the little boys room." Steve looked down, saw Mike's wellworn slippers and gave a slight smile.

"As long as I'm not taking you away from anything," the young man said.

"What are partners for?" Mike said as he walked down the hall.

Jeannie poked her head into the front room. "Steve. I thought I heard someone here. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Your dad is giving me a lift to the airport."

Noting the expression on his face, Jeanne sensed that something was wrong. Steve explained the situation.

"He's a very good man. He's taught at the school for decades. Even now, in his eighties, he still has an active role in his department."

"Where and what does he teach?" Jeannie asked as she sat on the sofa next to Steve.

"He's been at Harvard for years teaching various courses in political science."

"Wow. That's impressive."

"He started there in the twenties. Can you imagine what he's seen since then? He's one of the smartest men I've ever known."

Just then, there was another knock on the front door. Jeannie walked over and peered out the window. It was her date. She opened the door and greeted her friend with a smile.

"Hi, Babe. I'm ready to go when you are," she said as he allowed her date to walk into the house.

"Great, I have a place picked out that's near the stadium." The young man looked around as he noticed that they were not alone.

Steve recognized Jeannie's date right away. He was a police officer who was about the same age as he.

"Oh, pardon my manners," Jeannie said. "Dan, this is Steve Keller, dad's partner. Steve, this is Dan Robbins."